Engaging the Adaptive Mindset, Part II: The Empathetic Leader

Empathy and understanding create trust and safe places to experiment and be curious, which further fuels innovation.

Part I of this blog post discussed the changing mindset that is required to lead in a continuously shifting business environment.

Empathy

In overcoming our own biases and seeing the reality of a situation, we need to put ourselves into the minds of our customers and stakeholders. We need human-centered insights to get to the heart of a problem and help us reframe and uncover the needs our customers and stakeholders may not know they have.

Some insights from a recent IBM report show that organizations achieving success in this current climate— known as “reinventors”— put a lot of emphasis on the customer. Here are just a few of the top tips:

Collaborate and co-create new products and services and integrate feedback from customers into the planning and design processes.

Establish close connections with customers to garner direct feedback.

Detail the customer experience.

Break down the customer journey and uncover root issues and pain points in precise detail.

Empathy and understanding create trust and safe places to experiment and be curious, which further fuels innovation.

Strategy, Work, and People

Leaders learn how to thrive in this new normal by mastering how to think and lead differently across three fundamental domains of strategy, work, and people.

The ability to adapt to changing conditions and continue to translate and align strategy, design innovative solutions to new challenges, and collaborate more intensely while influencing are equally important. If you consider strategy, work, and people when you choose your approach there will be better balance and communication.

How Do We Develop It?

Among the skills adaptive leaders need in their toolboxes are:

Making sense of complexity

Driving and influencing change

Leading without authority

Building effective teams

Managing critical relationships

Learn more about how these specific capabilities provide a holistic approach to strategy execution and how they can empower leaders with the right mindset to successfully drive project-based work.

Why Do We Need It?

Our adaptive leaders need to have a new vision:

To make the right decisions at the right moment,

To see calmly and clearly through the uncertain environment in which are we working,

To move forward with confidence and take our team along with us through this journey and,

To ensure successful execution of strategy and product positive results for all aspects of the organization: strategy, work, and people.

TwentyEighty Strategy Execution, the global authority in project leadership training, equips your people with the complete package of technical and leadership skills — the mindset, adaptability,and expertise to lead and execute projects in any context. With curricula in adaptive strategic execution, project management, business analysis, contract management, and more, Strategy Execution partners with your organization to build skill sets and change mindsets. It’s time to declare a new standard of performance. For more information, visit strategyex.com.

About Strategy Execution

TwentyEighty Strategy Execution, the global authority in project leadership training, equips your people with the complete package of technical and leadership skills — the mindset, adaptability,
and expertise to lead and execute projects in any context. With curricula in adaptive strategic execution, project management, business analysis, contract management, and more, Strategy Execution partners with your organization to build skill sets and change mindsets. It’s time to declare a new standard of performance. For more information, visit strategyex.com.